Mr. Speaker, Chantal Hébert's column “Political dance on native rights” is only partially correct. She correctly states that eastern political parties are walking on eggshells but she fails to recognize why.
My colleague from West Nova and myself as the member of parliament for South Shore understand the fragility of the licensed lobster fishery based on conservation. The reason this industry is lucrative is that lobster fishers have adopted licences, carapace sizes, trap limits and an inhospitable winter season to assure a quality product for domestic and export markets.
This year one lobster fisherman in LFA 35 has been lost at sea. We can all see that the cost of being in the industry is extremely high. The real story is that the political parties do not understand this issue. The Liberals have no plan to resolve this crisis. The Reform misled fishers into falsely believing that the decision can be struck down. The NDP has completely turned its back on eastern Canada.